


try to be a good example

by benvoliotheorphan



Series: just a bunch of goofs [2]
Category: A Goofy Movie (1995), Animaniacs, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Family Fluff, Fluff, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Multi, and probably only appeals to me, but i am nothing if not a creator of self-indulgence, goofy is the best dad, i'm gonna be real with you - this fic is a mess, max and sora are awkward brothers, riku and kairi are also here but they say a total of four words between them so...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-26
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-18 15:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28994802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benvoliotheorphan/pseuds/benvoliotheorphan
Summary: There’s a new member to the Goof family, and Max has to quickly adjust to no longer being an only child.
Relationships: Goofy & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Max Goof & Goofy, Max Goof & Sora, Max Goof/Yakko Warner
Series: just a bunch of goofs [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126982
Comments: 8
Kudos: 39





	try to be a good example

**Author's Note:**

> The reason this exists is simple: I wanted to write more Yax + I was craving some content involving Max and Sora being siblings (because Sora is Donald’s and Goofy’s son and KH is just an AU where they accidentally adopt a child while on their honeymoon).
> 
> Two birds, one stone.
> 
> A few things to note about this AU before jumping in:
> 
>   * The last fic made it clear that the events of A Goofy Movie were just a movie that Max and his friends were actors in. The same logic applies to the Warners (they’re just actors, no getting stuck in the tower for 60 years) and the KH characters.
>   * Video game characters are a type of toon. At least for the logic of this fic.
>   * SoRiKai is hinted at/implied, but doesn’t get much focus. They are an endgame ship for this AU tho
>   * The Warners have aged! In this AU toons age like humans until they reach adulthood, then they just kind of stop? Or at least slow down significantly. In the last fic Max and Yakko were around 15-ish, and in this fic they’re about 22. Idk if that makes sense, but these are the hoops I jump through in order to use a college aged Max and have Yax still be A Thing.
> 

> 
> Also a general warning of characters possibly being ooc bc I still have no clue what I’m doing.

Yakko’s ears perked up when the front door of the apartment opened, and he turned his head to look over the back of the couch to the entryway of his cozy, only slightly cramped home. An amused grin tugged on his lips as he watched Max stumble into the apartment, his boyfriend’s eyes practically closed as he kicked off his shoes and dropped his backpack onto the ground by the door before nudging it shut with his elbow.

“Heya, Maxie!” Yakko greeted, making sure his voice was extra chipper to an annoying degree. His grin grew as Max threw his head back and groaned, his whole body sagging with exhaustion. Yakko snickered at the sight before taking pity on his boyfriend and reverting to his normal voice as he asked, “How was class?”

“Loooong,” Max bemoaned as he trudged his way across the apartment to the dining area where the leftover spaghetti Yakko had cooked up earlier that evening was sitting out in waiting. “Have I mentioned how much I hate that the only available time for this class is a three hour night class that meets every Friday?”

“A few times, yeah,” Yakko answered, his tone tinted with laughter - they always seemed to have the same conversation every Friday night when Max finally got back home around 10 o’clock. The laughter died quickly though, his smile faltering as Max turned away from him to get some food. There was nothing that could be done about the matter, the course was required, and putting it off could set back graduation, which was the last thing Max wanted. Still, Yakko couldn’t help the twinge of worry and sympathy he felt; working part-time while being a full-time student was tough on its own without the awkward hours.

At least Max only whined when he was tired. Yakko winced as he recalled how horrible Wakko and Dot were while they were exhausted, snapping and snarling and baring their teeth - as much as he had missed his siblings since moving in with Max, he was secretly glad he didn’t have to deal with that any longer. It was unfortunate that Max still had to deal with it though. Grouchiness was, apparently, a Warner trait, and Bugs was a saint to have put up with it threefold for the past several years.

“Did you do anything today?” Max called out as he put his bowl of lukewarm spaghetti into the microwave to reheat before tossing what remained of the leftovers into the fridge. “Anything interesting happen?”

“Not really,” Yakko answered with a shrug as he turned back around to face the TV, frowning when he realized he didn’t recognize what was playing. He _had_ been watching a rerun of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he hadn’t realized the episode was close to over before Max arrived. “Just did the same thing I always do: went to class, went to work, came home, made dinner.” He winced at how dull it sounded, it being a far cry from the exciting schedule he had had before while he and his sibs were filming Animaniacs. Such was life post-cancellation, he supposed. “Your dad called,” he added as he settled back into his spot and began to shift through the channels for something new to watch, “left a message asking you to call him back. Sounded important.”

Max let out an odd sound of surprise, and Yakko had to bite down on his tongue to prevent himself from laughing else risk the ire of his boyfriend. God, that man was adorable sometimes. “I guess I should call him before it gets too late,” Yakko heard Max say, his voice quiet as he shuffled out of the dining area and down the hallway where their phone was kept. Yakko did his best to not eavesdrop as Max made his call, doing his darnedest to keep his focus on the television as he rapidly flipped through the channels. He didn’t really see what was on the screen, though, as his curiosity at the conversation between father and son was too great - Goofy had sounded so serious in the voicemail, and Yakko could count on one hand the number of times he’s heard the toon use such a tone.

Try as he might not to invade his boyfriend’s privacy, he couldn’t avoid hearing the loud cry of, “WHAT!?” that erupted from the hallway after several minutes of quiet murmuring. _That_ got Yakko to sit up, his curiosity piqued even more. He scooted to the edge of the sofa and leaned over its arm as much as he could - probably a bit too far, actually, as he had to brace one hand on the ground to keep himself from toppling over - in an attempt to catch a glimpse of Max’s face and figure out what had caused him to shout. The situation really must be dire if Goofy was acting serious and Max was shouting like that while being dead on his feet.

Unfortunately, Max had his back turned towards him, making Yakko scowl. Jerk probably did that on purpose.

Yakko strained his ears to try and catch even a hint of the conversation. Max had gone back to talking softly, however, so Yakko only caught small tidbits like “yeah,” “okay,” “sounds good,” and “bye.” The last word was accompanied by Max ending the call and returning the phone to its port, and Yakko’s eyes widened as he felt a spike of panic rush through him. As Max turned around and made his way back to the living area, Yakko scrambled to get back on the couch, desperate to not get caught being nosy. Unfortunately, he only succeeded at throwing himself off the thing completely, landing face-first onto the carpet.

Well, at least the carpet’s soft.

Yakko pushed himself off the ground, face twisted in a grimace as he waited for Max to lay into him for trying to eavesdrop. The expression fell from his face when Max simply silently walked around him and took a seat on the couch. Yakko frowned and furrowed his brow as he stood up, concern nagging at him; not only was Max being uncharacteristically quiet about his antics, he seemed to have forgotten his food in the microwave.

Slowly, Yakko returned to his spot on the couch. Max didn’t even react, too busy staring off into space with a bemused expression. Yakko felt his shoulders relax a bit and he sighed. That expression must’ve meant that the news wasn’t _bad_ , or at least not devastating.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked, keeping his voice low and gentle. He reached out and grabbed Max’s hand, offering his boyfriend a light, reassuring squeeze.

Max startled, though be it from Yakko’s voice or the sudden physical contact Yakko couldn’t say. Slowly, Max turned his head and focused his gaze on Yakko, his expression still looking more confused than upset, though his frown had grown. Max stared at Yakko for a few seconds, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he struggled with his words. Yakko waited patiently, though his anxiety began to slowly rise the longer Max kept silent. Perhaps the situation was far more serious than he had initially thought. While Max was not quite known for talking like Yakko was, it was still fairly rare to have him rendered so completely speechless-

“I’m... gonna be a big brother?” Max finally said, though it sounded more like a question than a statement of fact.

Yakko reeled back a bit, unable to do much more than blink several times as he processed the information. No doubt his expression was something similar to the befuddled one Max still wore. Of all the news he had been anticipating - death in the family, someone injured in the hospital, a terminal illness - this was probably the last thing he had been expecting. “I thought you said the thing between Goof and the hot librarian was something that they just did for the movie?” he found himself asking.

“What?” Max asked, his tone incredulous as he furrowed his brow. “Yeah, it was. They’re just friends-”

“Then who the hell did your dad fu-”

“NO ONE!” Max shouted, his face twisting in disgust as he quickly pulled his hand out of Yakko’s grasp and slapped it over Yakko’s mouth. Yakko would’ve cackled at his reaction, though the hand clamping his mouth shut kind of prevented that. Not that he could particularly blame Max; while every child old enough to know what sex was knew logically that their parents had to have done it at some point, that didn’t mean it was something the kid ever wanted to think about. “Dad’s adopting a kid, jeez,” Max elaborated before finally moving his hand off Yakko’s mouth.

Ah. That made much more sense.

“Huh,” Yakko huffed as he leaned against the couch. “Do you know the kid?”

Max shook his head, running one hand through his hair and messing it up even more than it typically was. “No. I mean, yes. Kind of. I never met him but I know about him. Dad talked about him a lot whenever we were able to catch up with each other. It’s the main kid from that game that Dad and Uncle Donald are starring in. Y’know, the one with Final Fantasy?”

“I think I know the one,” Yakko said, thinking back to some of the ads he’d seen. It wasn’t released in the U.S. yet, so he hadn’t had the chance the play it, although he highly doubted he’d ever actually give the game any attention if his boyfriend’s dad wasn’t in it. Video games weren’t exactly his thing to begin with, and the few that he did like were more strategy-based. The only thing he enjoyed about the Final Fantasy series was the gameplay; he always found the stories to be dull and needlessly convoluted. It looked as though that Kingdom Hearts would be a stripped-down Final Fantasy without the fun gameplay and with Disney characters thrown in the mix, so all-in-all not for him. Wakko and Dot might like it, though. “That spiky-haired boy in the big yellow shoes?”

“That’s the one,” Max said with a curt nod. “Kid’s apparently an orphan, and it was only through sheer luck he got the part.” Yakko nodded slowly, a spark of empathy going out to the boy - he’d been there before, and it was one hell of a disorienting journey. “He’d evidently endeared himself to Dad, and y’know how much of a bleeding heart the guy has.” Max sighed and leaned his head so far back that it hung over the back of the sofa. “Dad wants me to go visit next weekend and meet him.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” Yakko began, gently scooting closer to his boyfriend. “If he’s legally your brother now-”

“But I don’t know how to _be_ a brother!” Max exclaimed as he threw his arms high in the arm, cutting Yakko off and nearly smacking him in the face. “I’ve been an only child my whole life! Sure, Dad was often a father-figure for other kids, but he was never anybody else’s _‘dad’!_ I just...” He let out a loud groan, one hand reaching down to rub at his eyes while the other fell limply into his lap. Yakko sat silently and waited - he’d let the interruption slide this once since it was pretty big news to get dumped on someone after a long day.

After a minute or two, Max let out a low sigh and let his hand drop back to his side. He stared up blankly at the ceiling for a brief moment before his eyes suddenly lit up, widening a fraction. Yakko felt a pit form in his stomach as a look of realization grew on Max’s face, and he quickly braced himself for the worst. Max pulled his head up off the back of the couch just enough to look over at Yakko and said, “Hey, you’ve got siblings-!”

“Yeah, I’m gonna stop you right there, Maxie-boy,” Yakko cut in, leaning forward so he could press his index finger up against Max’s lips, shushing him. “I might be able to give you some general advice on the whole ‘oldest brother’ mantel, but I’m afraid that our circumstances are too different for me to be of any actual help. I was still a kid when my sibs were born, and I had spent near a decade of my life raising them myself before we were cast in Animaniacs and Bugs took us in. You’re an adult who’s already moved out and that kid’s a teenager.”

Max sat up fully on the couch, gently brushing Yakko’s hand away from his face. He sent Yakko a desperate, pleading look and began to protest, but as soon as the word, “But,” had left his mouth, Yakko covered it again and shook his head.

“Listen, babe, no two sets of siblings are the same. Take it from someone with two of ‘em: my relationship with Wakko is different from my relationship with Dot, and their relationship with each other is different from the ones they got with me. Our dynamics are different due to our age, our personalities, and a whole lot of different factors - y’know, just like every other relationship. I can maybe give you tips on dealing with moody teens, I went through that _twice-_ ”

“Still going through it with Dot,” Max added, though his voice was muffled as Yakko had yet to move his hand.

“-But I can’t tell ya how to be this kid’s brother,” Yakko continued as if Max hadn’t spoken. “Right now you two are strangers with the only connection between ya being Goofy. The only thing you can do right now is to just try and be friendly.”

Max huffed as Yakko finally pulled his hand away, an adorable pout tugging on his lips. “I don’t know how to approach this, Yak, that’s the problem,” he said with a slight whine to his voice.

Yakko shrugged before giving into temptation and leaning forward to kiss away Max’s pout. “Just treat him like you treat Wakko and Dot, or even Pistol,” he supplied as he pulled away, satisfied to see a dopey grin had replaced the pout - as adorable as the previous expression was, Yakko couldn’t deny the appeal of that smile. “This’ll only be as weird as you make it.”

Yakko was hit with a wave of disappointment when Max’s smile fell at his words, replaced with a thoughtful expression instead. Darn, he’ll have to work hard to get that grin back before the night was done. “You’re right,” Max finally admitted with a sigh. “I’m probably just overthinking it.”

“You’re definitely overthinking,” Yakko agreed with a playfully solemn nod. “You better stop that, though, that’s my job.”

Max rolled his eyes and playfully shoved Yakko away before getting up off the couch and walking to the microwave. “Well, if you can’t tell me exactly what to do, would you at least be willing to come with me next weekend?” he called out as he pulled out the bowl of spaghetti.

“Yeah, sure!” Yakko readily agreed as he settled back into the couch and resumed his previous activity of flipping through channels. As if he was gonna leave his boyfriend hanging and not offer him emotional support during such a trying time!

Besides, he had to admit he was curious about how the kid would fit into the already odd Goof family.

* * *

Sora let out a huff of a sigh as he glared at his reflection, focusing specifically on his hair. No matter what he did with it, the mess on his head would _not_ stay down, at least not without copious amounts of hair gel that would just be a pain to wash out later. He wasn’t sure what artist had decided it would be a good idea for some toons to have naturally spiky hair, let alone make the feature genetic, but Sora was definitely adding that person to the top of his (rather short) list of mortal enemies.

He reached up once again with his brush and attempted to lay his hair down flat, but it continued to not cooperate and popped right back up as soon as the brush had gone over it. Sora let out an aggravated groan and dropped the brush into the sink, using more force than was necessary and causing a loud clatter to echo in the bathroom. Sora typically was not one to care so much about his appearance, or the fact that he had what Cloud had once described as “anime hair syndrome”, but...

Well. Sora was to meet his new brother soon. His nerves were wound tight from his desire to make a good first impression.

Sora didn’t have the first clue as to how he was supposed to react to suddenly having an older sibling - he was _still_ adjusting to the fact that Goofy was his father now, with Donald and Daisy and Mickey and Minnie and all the rest of the Disney Toons quickly falling into place as his uncles and aunts and cousins. He had tried asking his friends for advice, as Kairi had an older brother and two younger sisters, and Riku was the oldest of three boys, but neither of them had been much help. They’d grown up with their siblings and they were just as clueless as he was as to how to properly react to suddenly having an adult sibling in your life after being alone for years.

Granted, Sora hadn’t _always_ been an only child. The vague memories he had before his parents' death included a few other boys who were around his age. But he had barely been three years old when his parents passed away, and by the time he was old enough to actually retrain clear memories, he was in the orphanage he’d spend a majority of his life in with no family in sight. He had no clue if his brothers had died, or ran away, or were lost in the system, or just a figment of his imagination. Sora had always dreamed of finding out, and maybe now that he had money thanks to Kingdom Hearts, as well as a stable home with a loving parental figure, he could finally find out someday soon.

But, all that was neither here nor there. Possibly imaginary brothers aside, Sora had spent his whole life as an only child and an orphan to boot. And worst of all, he looked up to Max a lot. A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie were two of his all-time favorite Disney movies, he did not want the evening to end with the star of those movies thinking he was a dweeb.

Of course, according to Kairi’s older brother Lea (with extra confirmation from Riku), older brothers always thought that their younger siblings were dweebs. It was just the way of the eldest sibling.

A gentle knock on the door startled Sora out from his jumbled thoughts. It was quickly followed by Goofy’s voice coming from the other side asking, “Sora? Ya alright in there?”

Sora heaved another sigh - the brush in the sink must’ve been louder than he’d thought. He gave his reflection one last glare before quickly crossing the bathroom and opening the door. “Yeah, I’m fine Goofy,” he answered as soon as he met Goofy’s concerned gaze. He was tempted to leave it at that and not share his inner turmoil, but for some reason he always had a hard time lying to Goofy, even before the toon had adopted him. “Just... my hair...”

“Aw, what’s wrong with it?” Goofy asked, reaching up and ruffling his hair. Sora scowled, but it held little heat; he was pretty sure his hair was beyond salvation at that point. “Looks alright to me!”

“It’s a _mess_ ,” Sora corrected as he ducked out from Goofy’s hand.

Goofy’s head tilted to the side as he gave Sora a confused look. “So? It looks like it usually does!”

Sora shook his head before looking up at Goofy with large eyes, silently pleading him to _understand_. “I gotta make a good impression-”

“Gwarsh, is that it?” Goofy cut in, quickly walking around so he stood by Sora’s side. He wrapped an arm around Sora’s shoulders, giving him a reassuring squeeze, before leading the two of them out of the bathroom. “Ya don’t need to worry about that!” Goofy explained as he led them to the living room, taking a seat on the couch. Sora had no choice but to sit down next to him, not yet willing to be released from the comforting half-hug. “Max don’t care about all that! In fact, his hair’s even messier than yours most of the time!”

Sora snorted, very much doubting that. Still, the words brought him some comfort, and he could feel the anxiety-induced knot in his stomach loosen if only just a bit. “I just... want him to like me,” he admitted meekly, glancing down at his hands as he worriedly wrung them together.

“I’m sure he will!” Goofy said the words so brightly and with such confidence, Sora couldn’t help but believe him, even if doubt still lingered. “You and him are more alike than ya think - you both like skateboarding, after all!” Sora nodded, feeling a slight confidence boost. Admittedly, Sora wasn’t quite good at it yet, but it was pretty fun. If all things went well, he could even possibly get a few tips from Max.

And, he supposed, if things _didn’t_ go well, he’d still at least have his friends there to help smooth things over.

“Thanks, Goofy,” Sora said as he wrapped his arms around Goofy’s middle and gave him a tight hug. He smiled some when he felt the hug returned.

“There’s no need for thanks,” Goofy said once they pulled apart. “I know you two’ll get along!” He beamed down at Sora before pushing himself up off the couch. “Now c’mon! Why don’t you help me get dinner ready?” He ruffled Sora’s hair one last time, earning him a laugh and an indignant “HEY!”, before turning and heading towards the kitchen.

Sora shook his head before standing up and following Goofy. He did feel better about the whole situation, though he doubted that he’d be completely free of his anxiety before Max arrived. He remembered how it wasn’t until they were well into the production of Kingdom Hearts that he finally was free of his nervousness around all the big star toons he was working with, Goofy included. He was probably just thinking too much about the situation, just like he did back then when he first got the lead role.

Still, if he stopped now and then while he was helping Goofy get everything set up for the dinner party to check his reflection and make sure he looked decent, well... what was the harm?

The doorbell finally rang just as Sora and Goofy were finishing up setting the table. Goofy near dropped the last few dining utensils he had, luckily consisting of only spoons and nothing sharp like knives, as his whole face lit up with excitement. Sora swore he’d never seen the toon so excited in all the time he had known him, not that he could blame him. From what he’d heard, it’d been a long time since father and son had a chance to see each other face-to-face. Who knew working on a video game and being a college student would lead to such conflicting schedules? The only time they ever did see each other was while filming House of Mouse, which Sora supposed didn’t count since they were too busy working to catch up.

Sora was quick to take the spoons out of Goofy’s hands, allowing him to rush over and answer the door. Sora finished setting the table and listened closely to the sound of the front door slamming open and Goofy’s excited greeting of, “MAXIE!!”

“Hi, Dad-OOF!”

Sora paused at the cutoff greeting and quietly snuck out of the dining area to the main entryway of the house. He failed to hold back a snicker at the sight of Goofy giving Max a tight hug, the younger toon’s eyes practically bulging out of his skull from the strength of it. Laughter from outside then silenced Sora and he stood up onto the tips of his toes to try and catch a glimpse of who had arrived with Max. Goofy had mentioned a boyfriend, but in his excitement to throw everything together he never said just who his son was dating.

Unfortunately, Sora was only able to see what appeared to be a pair of black fuzzy ears sticking up in the air before his gaze unintentionally met Max’s. He felt himself freeze up as his earlier anxiety returned tenfold, unable to do much more than gulp down whatever air was in his mouth. Max gave him a strained grin, which Sora returned with a shaky one of his own.

“It’s so good to see ya!” Goofy exclaimed as he gave Max another tight squeeze, causing Max to drop his smile and let out a pained squeak.

“It’s... good to see you, too...” he gasped out as he began to struggle out of his dad’s grip. “Can’t... breathe...”

Luckily, Goofy understood and quickly let go of Max before stepping back with a startled, “Oh!” As Max gasped for air and steadied himself by leaning against the doorway, Goofy sent him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Maxie. Guess I was a little excited.”

Max dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand that wasn’t currently clutching the doorframe. “Don’t worry about it, Dad, it’s fine!”

“Yeah, Mr. G,” a voice that Sora instantly recognized, though it wasn’t as high pitched as he was used to, called from behind Max. “Believe it or not, he was actually looking forward to one of your back-breaking hugs!”

Sora blinked several times as Yakko Warner shoved his way into the humble abode so he and Goofy could share a hug, with Max rolling his eyes off to the side. Of all the people he had been expecting Max to be dating, he hadn’t considered the possibility of them being a toon from a different company. While such relationships weren’t exactly unheard of, it was still rather rare. He was surprised that it hadn’t been all over the rumor-mill already - then again, Sora didn’t pay much attention to that, so it was fairly likely that it had been and he’d just missed it.

It was weird, seeing Yakko as an adult after just seeing him be around Sora’s throughout the entirety of Animaniacs. He knew empirically that cartoons would often change their physical appearance to match whatever age was necessary for the role they were playing; heck, he, Riku, and Kairi had all been given a crash course lesson on how to do it themselves for a couple of flashback scenes in their game. It was a tiring process for those who were not proficient at it, and the three of them were by no means masters at it yet: they were only able to hold the younger forms for a couple of minutes and all struggled to change their voices to be younger as well (luckily, to save a bit of space on the disc, those scenes relied on subtitles for the dialogue instead of voiceovers). He should’ve figured the trick was used for Animaniacs, as it wouldn’t have made much sense for a show staring children to go on for as long as it did and yet the children stars never grew, but it still caught him off guard.

At least it wasn’t too drastic of a change. Similar to Max, the only real difference between his kid-self and adult-self was that Yakko was now taller and the fur around his face was scruffier. And he wore better clothes, though Sora knew from personal experience that he shouldn’t judge the outfits toons were forced to wear by their studios.

Sora kept silent as the hug between Yakko and Goofy came to an end and Goofy took a few steps back so that the couple could fully enter the home and close the door behind them. Once inside, nothing stopped Max and Yakko from narrowing in their attention on Sora, much to his dismay and causing him to feel yet another spike of anxiety.

Luckily, Goofy seemed to notice his sudden discomfort and quickly moved to stand by his side. “Fellas,” he began, once again wrapping a reassuring arm around Sora’s shoulders, “I’d like ya to meet the newest member of the Goof family: Sora!”

Sora stared at the two older toons for what felt like an eternity, his brain constantly trying and failing to come up with an appropriate greeting. Max and Yakko waited patiently, Max with his hands in his pockets and a relaxed smile on his face while Yakko had his arms crossed and was looking at him expectedly with one raised eyebrow. Sora gulped and finally settled on a smile, which wobbled due to his nerves, and a small wave. “Hi,” he added as an afterthought, feeling as though he should say _something_ but unsure as to what.

Max’s smile grew. “Hey, I’m Max,” he greeted as he held out one hand for Sora to shake.

Sora began to reach out and take it, but Yakko suddenly pushed Max out of the way before he could, causing Max to shout as he comically fell to the ground. “And I’m Yakko, Max’s extremely handsome, extremely talented, and extremely funny boyfriend!” he loudly exclaimed. Yakko then did an over the top bow, arms flailing with a flourish before he dipped low to the ground. Goofy let out a chuckle, and Sora felt his smile relax and become more genuine at the act, some tension leaving his shoulders.

He soon joined Goofy in laughter when Max picked himself off the ground with an annoyed cry of, “YAKKO!” He stormed over and grabbed Yakko by the back of his shirt, yanking him back up into a standing position. Yakko flailed a bit at the sudden motion, but when he had steadied himself he merely met Max’s glare with a somewhat smug expression. “Hey, y’know me, babe! Always an entertainer.” He then subtly jerked his head towards Sora and Goofy, an action Sora almost missed.

Sora’s laughter died down as Max glanced his way, and Sora found himself beaming up at him. Max then huffed and rolled his eyes before letting go of Yakko’s shirt, though Sora caught the small, thankful smile he sent his boyfriend.

“You sure know how to liven things up, Yakko,” Goofy said as his laughter finally died down. Yakko preened at the compliment, standing up straight with his chest sticking out some, grinning smugly at Max who simply shook his head. Goofy then stepped away from Sora, removing his arm and giving Sora a couple of pats on his shoulder. “Why don’t you show these two the guest room while I finish getting dinner ready?”

It was then that Sora noticed a bag lying by the front door; Max must’ve dropped it when Goofy had hugged him. He blinked, vaguely recalling Goofy mentioning that Max might stay the night and leave the next morning - guess that maybe was now a definitely.

“Sure thing, Goofy,” Sora agreed, tossing Goofy a grin as Max picked the bag off the ground. Sora waved for Max and Yakko to follow him before leading them up the stairs where all the bedrooms were kept. He kept silent on their short journey while the couple murmured to each other behind him. It took everything within him to not glance over his shoulder, his curiosity at what they were saying (and if they were talking about him) high, though not higher than the fear of confirmation that they were making fun of him. He’d rather not know, thanks.

“Well, here we are!” Sora said as he came to a stop beside the guest room door, turning to smile at Max and Yakko as they caught up to him. Yakko hummed as he quickly snatched the bag from Max’s grip and opened the door to the room. Max sent him a light glare but said nothing as Yakko walked in, his gaze quickly being drawn away by something further down the hallway.

Sora tilted his head at the somewhat questioning expression that took over Max’s face before his curiosity got too great and he turned to see what Max was looking at.

He blanched when he noticed his bedroom door was open.

“So, Dad gave you my old room?” Max asked as he walked around Sora and towards the bedroom. Sora quickly followed, praying that his room wasn’t too much of a mess as Max stuck his head inside. It shouldn’t be, because he hadn’t completely moved in yet, but he did have a habit of just leaving his stuff lying around.

“Uh, I guess so?” Sora answered once he reached the door, relieved that only a few shorts and shirts from his frantic search for an outfit earlier were on the ground and not much else. He still silently cursed himself for not closing the door, though. “Is... is that okay?” he asked as he sent a nervous glance up towards Max.

The good news was that Max didn’t _look_ upset, merely curious. “Yeah, of course,” he answered with a shrug. “I certainly don’t need it anymore.” He sent Sora a reassuring smile before doing one last scan of the room. “Whoa,” he began as something caught his eye. Sora followed his gaze and felt a small bit of pride and excitement when he found himself looking at the prop keyblade he had been allowed to keep. “What’s that?”

“A giant key, what’s it look like?” Both Sora and Max jumped at Yakko’s snarky comment, neither realizing that he had snuck up behind them. Max sent his boyfriend an unamused look, while Sora sent another silent curse towards himself. Now _two_ famous toons have seen his mess of a room.

He pushed it aside, however, and quickly strode over to the prop, picking it up and bringing it back to the door for the others to see. “It’s a keyblade,” he explained, holding it up for Max, who took it and looked it over with curious eyes. “It’s the main weapon I use in our game!”

“Blade?” Yakko asked, standing on the tips of his toes so that he could look at the prop from over Max’s shoulder. “Looks a bit blunt to do much cutting.”

Max shrugged, and Yakko moved back just in time to avoid having it knock against his chin and risk biting his tongue. “That’s just classic video game logic. Most of those weapons wouldn't do as much damage in real life as they do in those things.”

“I beg to differ,” Yakko grumbled as he returned to his previous position.

Sora shifted nervously before rushing to his closet, where most of the boxes he had yet to unpack were kept. “That one’s the default,” he called out as he began to shuffle through the largest box. “Throughout the game, you can unlock more and switch them out. And some of them-” He grunted as he pulled out the two items he was searching for: Oblivion and Oathkeeper. “- _are_ sharp enough to cut.”

Granted, they were just props and thus couldn’t do any damage, but they _looked_ sharp, and that was the important thing.

He spun around, holding one keyblade in each hand. Yakko let out a low whistle while Max smirked as said, “Nice,” sounding at least somewhat impressed.

“You got any more of those?” Yakko asked as he finally moved to stand by Max’s side.

Sora shook his head, bringing the two keyblades to his front and looking down at them. “No. They let me keep the Kingdom Key because it was the main one, and when I asked for more they said I could only take two others.” He held Oathkeeper and Oblivion up so they were held in front of his face, the “sharp” edge of the blades facing towards him. “These were my favorites, so I chose them.”

“They’re certainly cooler looking than this one,” Max said, holding up the Kingdom Key in a similar manner.

Sora nodded as he brought the props down to his sides again. “Yeah! And apparently, they’re supposed to represent-”

His sentence was cut off by the doorbell ringing, followed soon after by Goofy calling out, “Sora! Your friends are here!”

“Ah,” Yakko said with a knowing smirk as he leaned back against the bedroom wall. “I see you brought backup as well.”

Sora felt his face heat up as Max sent Yakko a glare and hissed out his name in warning. “Wha-what are you talking about?” Sora asked, his earlier anxiety quickly returning with vengeance.

Yakko jerked his head towards where the stairs were located. “Y’know. You invited someone else you’re comfortable with in case you and Max didn’t get along. A buffer to keep things less awkward.” He then pointed his thumb over at Max, whose glare had grown harsher with each word. “Maxie did it too. Why else would I be here?”

“Yakko!” Max scolded.

Yakko turned to him and simply raised an eyebrow, unaffected by his boyfriend’s ire. “What? Teenagers are smart, and they also hate to be talked down to.”

Before their argument could proceed any further, two voices called from outside the room, likely by the stairs; two voices that Sora could recognize anywhere and instantly flooded him with relief.

“Sora?” Kairi’s voice called out tentatively.

“You up here?” Riku’s instantly followed.

“Yeah, coming!” Sora called out, relieved as can be for an excuse to leave his room. If his face grew any redder, he’d turn into an embarrassed tomato. He quickly turned and placed the two props onto his unmade bed before rushing out of the room, pushing past Max and Yakko as he ran as fast as his legs would take him.

Riku and Kairi stood at the top of the stairs, Kairi’s eyebrows pinched with concern while Riku had one raised in a silent question. Sora opted to not answer either of them, already hearing Max’s and Yakko’s whispered argument as they followed him to the stairs. Instead, Sora rushed forward, grabbed both of their hands, and practically pulled them down the stairs.

He’d have to remember to thank Goofy later for allowing him to invite his friends. As embarrassed as he was to be called out, he couldn’t deny the way he instantly relaxed once in their presence.

* * *

Max had to give his father credit where credit was due: he actually managed to pull off a nice dinner. Not that Max had any doubt about whether the food would be good or the company pleasant, but Goof get-togethers were typically... well, chaos usually sprung up somewhere, more often than not resulting in property damage of some kind. Throughout dinner, however, not even a single plate had been broken. There were a few close calls, as was to be expected when Goofy was involved, but Max and Sora were quick to salvage the situation before any true damage was done.

And Max had to admit, he was rather impressed with how in tune Sora was with his father despite the relatively short time they’d known each other. He was quick to pick up and catch anything Goofy accidentally dropped, was skilled at preventing Goofy from falling whenever he tripped on something, and honestly, he was probably better than Max was at keeping up with their father’s blunders. Max was almost jealous, though he knew it was just because Sora had not inherited the patented Goof Klutz Gene as Max had. It was hard saving your father from his own clumsiness when you were nearly as accident-prone, after all.

More than anything else, seeing Sora keep up with Goofy, as well as joke and laugh with him, just made Max feel... relieved? Or something close enough. He couldn’t deny how even though he had been excited to move out of his childhood home and start his own life, he worried about his father. Sure, Goofy had survived on his own for decades before Max came along, but even so, he knew the loneliness Goofy had showcased in their last movie hadn’t entirely been an act.

Sora was a good kid besides, always bright and happy. Max had been worried when they first arrived about how nervous Sora acted, and that worry only worsened when Yakko inadvertently embarrassed him. Yakko hadn’t meant to, of course, he’d just forgotten that not all teenagers appreciated bluntness as his two siblings did. Max made sure Yakko apologized before they sat down for dinner, but it seemed like his friends were the balm he needed, for Sora dismissed it with a shrug.

“You were right,” he had admitted. “I did invite them over just in case things were too awkward. I just... wasn’t expecting it to be pointed out.”

Riku and Kairi were alright too, Riku a polite if somewhat brooding teen while Kairi was almost as bright and bubbly as Sora. It was obvious by just watching their interactions and the ease that they exhibited around each other that the three were close and had likely known each other for a long time. Max was glad that he and Sora had the same idea with the moral support, for it definitely helped ease the awkward tension that had settled between the group when Max and Yakko first arrived. The conversation at the dinner table flowed easily without any issues, and everyone was comfortable and pleasant. The only downside was that it left very little time for Sora and Max to actually “bond,” which Max was sure disappointed Goofy.

Oh well. Max didn’t expect the visit to end with him and Sora being best buds. These things took time, especially for Max who always struggled with making friends. If Max left the next day with him and Sora as amicable acquaintances, he’d call it a win.

Once the food at been eaten and the table cleared, the party of six shuffled outside, the weather nice and somewhat cool, a rarity for that time of year. Sora, Riku, and Kairi quickly rushed off to the other side of the yard, each picking up toy swords that they then swung at each other in a mock fight. They loudly laughed and hollered, their joy plain on their faces. The adults sat at the picnic table by the back patio, taking a moment to chat and catch up.

Of course, Yakko didn’t stick around for long. When Riku and Kairi teaming up against Sora resulted in his sword accidentally getting tossed out of his hands and smacking Yakko in the back of the head, that was the only incentive he needed to hop up and join the kids. Max could only watch with an amused and loving smile as Yakko grinned evilly at the children and pulled a large (convincing-looking but still very much fake) sword from his hammerspace before chasing them around the backyard.

“He’s good with kids,” Goofy said with a chuckle, and Max turned away from the chaos and laughter in the yard to face his father.

“Yeah. Guess you’d have to be after raising two of them,” Max said with a shrug.

Goofy frowned, a rare, small one that Max could count on his hands the number of times he’d seen it. “Not necessarily,” he said, and Max recalled how Pete, despite how much he truly did love his children, had been a rather poor parent in all. The look in Goofy’s eyes, however, made it seem like it was a recent issue, and Max felt a pit of dread form in his stomach as he glanced back towards the trio of teens. He wondered which of Sora’s friends had a bad home-life, but then his father changed the subject before he had the chance to ask. “So, what d’ya think of Sora?”

Max tried not to be too jarred by Goofy’s sudden shift in tone - he knew all too well that Goofy was not one to typically dwell on serious matters, especially if he couldn’t do anything to fix it right then and there. “He’s a good kid,” Max answered. “Seems very happy here.” Not that he could blame Sora. For all that Max complained about it growing up, he knew that he was extremely lucky to have as loving and caring a father as Goofy.

Goofy nodded. “And you’re alright with this?” He eyed Max, a nervous look in his gaze. “It’s not too weird?”

“Nah,” Max instantly answered, leaning against the table and resting his chin in his hand. “I mean, it’s a bit weird having a teenage brother, but I’ve got no problem with it.” He then laughed and shook his head a bit. “Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner.”

Goofy gave him a questioning look, his head tilted to the side, and Max was hit with a sense of déjà vu. Sora had given him that _exact_ same look when he was showing them the guest bedroom earlier. Either Sora had picked it up from Goofy in the time they’d known each other, or he and Goofy were just always destined to become a family together. Max grinned at the thought.

“What’d’ya mean?” Goofy asked.

“You always told me how you and Mom had planned to have a bunch of kids,” Max answered with a slight shrug. “You were both unsure if you wanted children at first, but then you did those shorts with her nephew playing ‘Junior’-”

A nostalgic, bittersweet smile stretched across Goofy’s face, the same faraway look in his eyes he always got whenever he thought of his late wife. “That’s true! Once we realized we really did want kids, we quickly decided we wanted a big family. But we had a bit of trouble making things work.” He beamed at Max before leaning over and ruffling his hair, which Max for once allowed without complaint. “You were our little miracle child.” His smile then melted away, the saddened expression that replaced it one Max was used to seeing when this topic of conversation came up, but still made his heart ache nonetheless. “Of course, then she... well...” Goofy sighed and ran one hand along his face before gathering himself with a small shake of his head. “Plans change.”

Max frowned, regret for bringing up sore memories washing over him. He thought about changing the subject to something lighter, but his mouth decided to betray him and instead ask, “Did you ever think of having another kid before now?”

“‘Course,” Goofy answered with ease, looking more like himself than he did just a moment before. “But, no offense, you were always kinda a handful.” He gave Max a teasing smile, which Max returned as he rolled his eyes. The tension in his shoulders slackened, though, relieved to see his father pull himself out of his slump. “It also just... never felt right, taking that step without her.”

Goofy then turned back towards the yard, with Max quickly following his gaze. Somehow during the course of their conversation, the game had changed, with Yakko giving Kairi a piggyback ride while chasing Riku and Sora. Every now and then Yakko would pull a pie out of his hammerspace, which he’d then hand off to Kairi for her to chunk at the two boys. Riku seemed to be mostly unscathed, but Sora had globs of lemon meringue clinging to his hair and clothes. He didn’t seem too perturbed by it, though, if the wide grin on his face was anything to go by.

Max and Goofy both chuckled when Kairi threw another pie, this one smacking Sora right in the face as he had turned around to stick his tongue out at the two of them. “But then I met Sora,” Goofy continued, voice soft, “and it was like everything fell into place. He reminds me a lot of ya.”

Max snorted. “Please,” he began as he turned back to his dad, “I was _never_ that happy-go-lucky.”

“Aw, you were!” Goofy argued, his customary large grin at long last back on his face. “You were the happiest kid I knew when you were little!”

“All little kids are happy,” Max countered.

“And you were happier as a teen than you remember,” Goofy added on, his smile taking on a teasing edge. “Especially after you ‘n’ Yakko started datin’.”

Max instantly sat up, his face heating up with a blush. He crossed his arms and turned away from his father, grumbling out, “Yeah, well, love will do that to ya,” as he did so. He supposed his dad was right, though. He knew he wasn’t quite as angsty as his movies had made him out to be, but he always felt there was some truth to the films and shows they made.

The thought reminded Max of something Sora had said earlier, and he felt himself relax a bit as curiosity took over. “Hey, Dad,” he began as he once again turned to face his dad. “Those two key-swords Sora’s got, the black and the white one?” He waited a moment for Goofy to nod and confirm that he knew what he was talking about before continuing. “You got any idea what they’re supposed to represent?”

Goofy thought it over for a moment, a familiar look of concentration taking over his features. “Well, I believe Mr. Nomura said somethin’ about how they’re supposed to represent Sora’s relationship with Riku and Kairi,” he answered after a moment. “Why do you ask?”

Max grinned a knowing grin as he looked back towards the yard where the pie chase was still taking place. “Oh, no reason.” His suspicions could very well be incorrect, but he would not be surprised if their closeness in real life was part of the reason why all three were cast as the lead roles.

Still, if he was right, it could explain why the kid was so darn happy most of the time.

* * *

Typically speaking, Max was not an early riser. He had always been more of a night owl, staying up well past midnight and not rolling out of bed until close to ten. Of the two, Yakko was the one who got up early, his internal clock attuned to account for small children who could easily get by on four hours of sleep even years after the fact. The last semester of college had thrown Max’s sleep schedule all out of whack, however, as he had only been able to grab classes at irregular hours. His internal clock was all out of sync as a result.

Which was why he wasn’t all that surprised when he was the first to wake up the following morning before the sun even rose.

Max blearily opened his eyes, first registering Yakko’s light snores brushing against the back of his neck, then the tight hold of his boyfriend’s arms wrapped around his midsection. Max allowed himself a moment to take in the familiar comfort before squinting at the clock on the nightstand in front of him. The red glowing letters read 5:34, and he bit back a groan - not even his father, the earliest riser Max knew, would be up yet at that time on a Sunday.

Max laid still for a moment, one hand gently rubbing the back of one of Yakko’s, as he thought over his options. He could try and fall back asleep, but then he would likely feel like garbage when he woke up only a couple of hours later. He could simply lay there in his boyfriend’s arms until it was time to get up; of course, he wasn’t usually one to sit still for too long, and he’d risk waking Yakko when trying to get into a more comfortable position. Max winced at the thought, all too familiar with how grouchy Yakko was whenever awoken from his slumber. He did _not_ want to deal with that. Of course, getting up also ran into a similar risk with how tightly his boyfriend was clinging to him.

It was the thought of coffee idly crossing his mind that finally made Max make a decision: it was time to get up.

Slowly and carefully, Max worked to pry Yakko’s arms from around him. He had to pause every now and then as Yakko would shift or mumble in his sleep, and Max held his breath as he waited to see if Yakko would wake. He got lucky each time, however, as Yakko would simply settle back to sleep without any issues.

Once free, Max made sure to push his pillow into Yakko’s arms, which his boyfriend quickly pulled to his chest and snuggled into. Max smiled at the sight, his heart fluttering in adoration. Even after dating for seven years, he still was amazed at how adorable Yakko could be.

Max was halfway down the stairs when he remembered that Sora’s friends had stayed the night as well, and the three teens had opted to sleep in the living room. Max winced and slowed his steps as to not make more noise. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he quietly snuck towards the living room, poking his head inside just to check and see if the kids were alright. Much to his surprise, instead of sleeping on the couches as Max had assumed they would be, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were all curled up next to each other in a giant pile of blankets and pillows on the floor, all sleeping peacefully. Max smiled at the sight before ducking out and continuing his journey to the kitchen.

Max flipped the light switch on as soon as he entered the room, flinching at the sudden brightness. He gave himself a second or two to adjust before setting about making some coffee, being sure to keep as quiet as possible as to not disturb the kids in the other room.

He had finally got it done and was pouring himself a mug when soft footsteps made him pause. Slowly, Max turned to see Sora standing in the doorway of the room, tiredly rubbing one eye as he yawned. Max was surprised to see that Sora was wearing the same sleepwear as he was, a white shirt and a pair of red shorts, though Sora’s shorts were a more vibrant shade than his own.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” Max asked, keeping his voice low. It took Sora a second to answer, bleary eyes simply staring at Max as if he hadn’t fully registered he was in the room.

But then Sora shook his head and walked towards the fridge. “No, ‘m jus’ a ligh’ sleeper,” Sora mumbled, his speech slurred with sleep. Max smiled and shook his head as he watched Sora pull out the carton of milk and set it on the island countertop.

“You want any coffee?” Max asked as Sora pulled a bowl and a box of cereal from the cupboard by the fridge. He nearly cackled at the way Sora’s face twisted in disgust.

“No thanks,” Sora answered as he set about pouring the cereal and milk into his bowl.

Max shrugged and leaned his back against the wall. “Suit yourself.”

A comfortable silence filled the room as each toon went about their own way of waking themselves up. By the time Max was moving to get himself another cup of coffee, Sora had finished his cereal and went about the process of cleaning up after himself. Now that his mind had been given the jolt it needed thanks to caffeine, Max realized that this was the first time he and Sora were alone together, and it was the perfect opportunity to try and befriend the kid.

But what to say? His earlier doubts returned full force as he quickly scanned the room for a conversation topic. How on earth could he possibly be an older brother if he struggled so hard to find something to talk about? Yakko and P.J. had no problems talking with their younger siblings, be it teasing the other or being a comforting presence. And yet here Max was, at a complete loss for words.

When his eyes trailed across the window leading to the yard, he caught sight of his old wooden half-pipe, still in prime condition even though he was no longer around to take care of it. Max’s face lit up, and he quickly turned to Sora, who was currently washing his bowl and spoon in the sink.

“Hey, so,” Max began, doing his best to keep his tone nonchalant. Sora paused scrubbing his bowl and turned to look at Max, that same questioning look that he and Goofy shared on his face. Max bit back his smile as he nodded his head toward the half-pipe outside. “Dad mentioned last night that you liked to skateboard?”

Sora’s eyes widened a fraction before he nodded quickly and turned his attention back to washing his dish. “Uh, yeah!” he answered after a moment of hesitation. “I’m still just learning, though. They, uh, wouldn’t let me own a board at the orphanage, so I didn’t start until... pretty recently.”

Max hummed and nodded before taking a sip of his second cup of coffee. He wondered briefly if what he was about to do was a good idea, or if it would come off as weird. But he had already started the conversation, he might as well finish it - and straight-up asking was almost always better than stewing over the “what if”s.

“If you want,” he began as he looked down at his cup, “I could help teach you. Y’know, give you a few tips.” The sink suddenly turned off, leaving an almost deafening silence in its wake. Hesitantly, Max glanced over at Sora, who was staring at him with wide eyes. “What d’ya say?” he asked after a moment, unsure how to read Sora’s expression outside of “shock”.

A few seconds ticked by, and then, in the blink of an eye, the shocked expression was replaced by a wide, excited grin. “Really?!” Sora practically shouted in his barely contained glee. “You’d do that?”

Max smiled and shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. What are big brothers for?”

Granted, Max was still uncertain if he truly qualified for the role, and he was still fearful about messing it all up. But as he looked at Sora, the kid's excitement palpable as he gave him his thanks, Max found his worries melting away some. Only time would tell if the two of them could form a familial bond, but so long as he made an effort to befriend him, Max figured they’d be alright.

It was, if nothing else, a step in the right direction.

**Author's Note:**

> While writing this I forgot what the height difference between Sora and Goofy was and wrote all this out under the impression that it was similar to the one between Goofy and Max in the first movie. Turns out in KH1 they’re near the same height.
> 
> Do with that information what you will.


End file.
